Annealing and scratches on 6.5SE

[deadwooddick]

For my Swede, loaded rounds are 0.293" neck diameter w/ 140 SMKs, 0.025" off the lands. If I do my part, they'll garner 145/6X or better at 600Y. Pictured cases are 1X fired Lapua.

OK, seems "policy" for accurate loads includes annealing every time (or some other schedule).

Soooo… the leftmost case is fired and annealed but NOT sized. The middle one is annealed and sized w/ a .291" Wilson bushing, ∆ = 0.002". The rightmost, ditto but sized in a Neil Jones sizer die w/ his .290" bushing, ∆ = 0.003±.

The bushing bores are "clean" (brakeclean and patch). The annealed necks show, comparatively, the same color as new Lapua brass. The necks and shoulder area are "still" shiny metallic, not the dull surface evident when ya' overcook 'em e.g., getting "rednecks" while in the flame.

Same scratches if lubing necks w/ either RCBS or Imperial. Any ideas on what's causing the scratches in the center and rightmost cases ?

Thanks,
Richard

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Use some copper solvent on the bushings. I have found a brass build up on some. If that doesnt work polish them with some fine grit sand paper.

 

[deadwooddick]

Use some copper solvent on the bushings. I have found a brass build up on some. If that doesnt work polish them with some fine grit sand paper.

Thanks. Fair enough, for the Jones bushing, the Wilson "was" brand new but still has the issue.

 

[mikecr]

To me it just seems like you're wiping away the temper film created from annealing.
I don't see a problem.

 

[deadwooddick]

To me it just seems like you're wiping away the temper film created from annealing.
I don't see a problem.

Thanks, but… I can feel the scratches w/ my finger nail, especially in the worst case, that w/ the Jones bushing.

 

[jlow]

I've seen similar problem with my Lapua brass. Two things you can do - one is definitely lube your neck with Imperial before sizing, this is a must. The other thing is to lightly polish the entry point of the bushing. If you do both, you will be able to avoid the problem you are seeing.

 

[Minesweeper3433]

Taging as I almost bought a new set of dies the other day when I noticed this myself with rcbs dies full length sizing. I cleaned them out with 400 grit emery but it still does it mildly especially with my new lapua brass which scares the daylights out of me.

 

[Old Navy]

Just had the same problem with a new Redding bushing. I chucked in my drill press and polished it with some 600 grit lapping compound. Problem solved. 600 or finer wet sand paper around a small dowel would probably work also. Later! Frank

 

[BoydAllen]

The inside of your Wilson bushing needs polishing. IOSSO, carefully used, comes to mind.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I know you want the nicest looking brass you can get but unless theyre worse than i can see its a non issue. Use a titanium nitride bushing and for accurate consistent loads do not lube the neck. Lube in the bushing is a no-no for consistency and it holds grime and carbon which in turn scratches the necks.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

And like boyd said polish the inside with iosso or flitz. Id do it with a wooden dowel coated with compond in a lathe or drill. If not wood try a q-tip

 

[rockdoc]

Have the same problem with Lapua 260 brass and Redding die. Thanks for the tips.

Cheers, CHris

 

[deadwooddick]

THANKS ALL… good to read there's little to no issue with those "scratches." And to see there are several remedies. Odd that folks are seeing a similar problem, but die manufacturers don't. In my experience, when asked, they have no solution.

 

[BoydAllen]

Years ago, when I did it, If I remember correctly I wrapped a couple of patchs around an old bore brush, applied some IOSSO to it and chucked the brush in a drill, held the bushing in one hand and the drill in the other. I let the bushing spin for an instant every second or so. I cleaned the bushing and checked it after a half minute of this, by sizing a cases. Take your time and work carefully, or you might end up with a custom bushing.

 

[jlow]

The thing about polishing is that you really only need to polish the slightly beveled entry point and not the actual straight sizing area. It is the initial sizing in this area that is causing the scratches in my case and so doing this will not change the actual necks sizing.

 

[Changeling]

If it was me, I would send them back to the manufacture for fixing or refund!

You paid a lot of money for custom dies that didn't perform as implied due to manufacturing issues. Why should you have to fiddle with them taking a chance on ruining them!

More people doing this would get them to watch there products more closely .

 

[BoydAllen]

It is not a die problem. It is an inexpensive bushing that will take about five minutes to fix.

 

[Webster]

Your photos don’t show neck O.D. chamfering. Give the neck a light O.D. chamfer and try sizing. Even if a case was chamfered in the past I think you can get a slight bur on the case neck O.D. I can feel it with my RCBS chamfer tool. If there is a bur the bushing would probably break it loose and drag it down the neck. I wouldn’t want to polish a bushing, they are honed at the factory to +/- 0.0005”. If there are any particles embedded or attached to the bushing you should be able to see them with your eye. You can easily see particles in the 0.001” to 0.002” size range with your eye. A human hair is about 0.002”. Take the dies apart and clean them. You probably have more than one bushing. Do the others scratch?

Compare several scratched case necks. If the pattern of scratch locations are not the same it isn’t embedded particles on the bushing. Kind of like a finger print.

 

[jsthntn247]

Put some Jb bore shine or Mothers Mag aluminum polish on a chamber neck mop that will fit in the bushing. Chuck the mop up in a drill and run it in the bushing for 5-10 seconds then wipe it clean. Make sure to use imperial on the outside of the necks and it won't happen any more unless you are sizing too much in on step.

 

[Webster]

Wouldn't it make more sense to determine if there is somethig wrong with the bushing before you alter the dimensions with abrasive. See my previous post. See if you get scratches with a different bushing. Chamfer the o.d. then size.